


no matter how they toss the dice

by xLoveMx



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, Angst, Did I Mention, F/F, Imagine Me and You - Freeform, Love at First Sight, background Klaine - Freeform, but also angst, but she won´t admit it, quinn knows she´s in over her head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-06-29 06:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLoveMx/pseuds/xLoveMx
Summary: "Do you guys believe in love at first sight? That you could meet someone, or just... across a room, and with that one glance you could look in their eyes and see their soul. Do you believe that could happen?"Quinn Fabray doesn´t believe in love at first sight. That is until she, quite literally, stumbles into Rachel Berry. Who´s looking for someone to arrange the flowers for her wedding.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven´t written Faberry in ages, but they´re the sort of couple I think I will never be quite over. I made a gifset for Faberry in an Imagine Me&You setting forever ago and it´s been in my head ever since. This is really just the first chaper to see if people would be interested in a story like this. So if you want me to continue this let me know. I really did miss these girls <3

The little bell over the door ringing indicated a customer setting foot into the shop and Quinn wished that she would have turned the sign at the door to _CLOSED_ already _._

It wasn´t that she didn´t want any customers, or didn´t like dealing with them, but she was currently in the back, trying to finish an order for a wedding she would have to deliver and while she wasn´t late she´d still have to hurry, especially since London traffic could be a nightmare at this time of the day.

“Just a minute!” She still found herself calling in an attempt not to come across as impolite. Maybe the person´s need for flowers wasn´t urgent and they´d leave again. And even if it wasn´t she hoped that they knew what they wanted, because she had little to no time for a consult right now.

Picking up three of the huge rose bouquets Quinn could barely see as she navigated through the door that lead into the front of the shop. She even managed to avoid running into the counter, but what Quinn hadn´t counted on was the bucket she´d used for a bouquet that had been picked up earlier and which she had placed on the floor next to the counter.

Weirdly enough her first thought revolved around being glad that she hadn´t stepped right into the bucket while she stumbled forward at the same time. She wasn´t going to have wet feet, but instead she was going to fall face first into three bouquets of roses, which she was supposed to deliver to a wedding.

“Oh God!” a voice pulled Quinn from her thoughts and then she felt hands on her arms, steading her. She managed to keep her feet on the ground, though she was pretty sure the bucket had tumbled over.

“Everything okay?” The voice asked and Quinn, who still couldn´t see through the mass of roses she was carrying, assumed that it belonged to the customer who had entered just a few minutes prior.

“Yes.” It was a careful answer as Quinn tried to calm down the adrenaline that had been sent coursing through her veins with her near fall. “I´m good.” She found herself slowly lowering the bouquets so she could get a look at the person who had saved her and was still holding on to her arms, just in case.

The first thing Quinn caught sight of was a head full of brown hair surfacing behind the bouquet of roses. Whoever had saved her was significantly smaller than her and for a moment Quinn was glad she hadn´t stumbled and torn the other to the ground with her. That would have been embarrassing and would have probably also lost her a customer.

“Good, that could have ended badly.”

The next thing that came into view were eyes and, without wanting to sound like she was exaggerating, Quinn was instantly hit with the realization that those were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were of a dark brown and reminded her of melting chocolate. Her heart did a somersault without her even wanting it to and she was surprised she didn´t instantly drop the flowers.

“Uh. Thank you,” Quinn eventually managed, trying to regain her composure as she nodded over to the counter, where she had placed some boxes, one already filled with different bouquets of flowers. “If you could…?”

“Oh, of course.”

They managed to secure the three bouquets in the empty box and Quinn sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face as she leaned against the counter.

“Sorry about…that.” She then found herself saying and couldn´t help but let out a chuckle. “I´m usually not that clumsy.”

“Well and here I was, thinking that was a unique way of selling me roses.” The brunette replied with a chuckle herself and for a moment they seemed to just stare at each other while Quinn tried her best to ignore the way her heart missed a beat here and there.

“I might just try that, thank you for the idea.” She replied eventually before she caught sight of the boxes again. Damn it, the wedding! “What can I do for you? And I hate to sound rude, but can we talk about it while I take these to the car? I have to get to a wedding.”

“Of course!” Another smile. “Which sort of also answers my first question.” The brunette then added as she watched Quinn pick up one of the boxes and quickly moved to hold the door open for her.

“Which would be?” Quinn asked over her shoulder as she stepped out of the small corner shop. She had come to London for a semester abroad, living with her great aunt, who had owned the shop and before she knew it Quinn had spent quite a bit of time working there. She had shown quite the gift for arranging flowers and when she had chosen not to return to America Aunt Fanny had stuck by her side and eventually signed the shop over to her when she had retired.

That had been two years ago. Two years since she had changed the sign to _Fabray Flowers_ , two years since she had finally cut all ties with her parents.

Shaking her head Quinn balanced the box on one knee and used her free hand to open the trunk so she could place the box inside.

“I was going to ask whether or not you do weddings.” The brunette chimed in again and Quinn was reminded of her presence. Right.

“Yes. I do. And usually I´m not late for them.” She replied with a look at her watch. But then again she usually also didn´t stumble face first into brunettes with beautiful brown eyes.

_Really, Quinn?_

“Well. I could always come along and help?” The brunette offered as she held open the door once more so Quinn could get the other box from the counter and bring it to the car.

“Oh really, you don´t have to.” She was quick to say as she closed the trunk and offered the other a smile. “I can manage. It´s just a bit of decoration for the reception and bouquets for the bridesmaids.”

“Well, I could at least come along and make sure you don´t fall over anything?”

Quinn was glad that she still had strands of hair falling into her face, because she was pretty sure that she was blushing. Quickly taking off her apron, and leaving it on the countertop, Quinn turned the sign at the door over to _CLOSED_ and locked it.

“I took the whole day off anyway so I could find the right place to do the flowers for my wedding, but when I look at those bouquets of yours I´m pretty sure I already found it,” Her smile seemed to be getting even brighter.

Right. Wedding.

 _You better forget about those eyes quicker than Aunt Franny can drown a glass of Sherry,_ Quinn thought to herself. It seemed pointless to try and convince the other woman that she wasn´t needed and it would only take time, which Quinn really didn´t have anymore.

“Alright. Under on condition,” She then added as she opened the car door to slip inside.

“Anything.” The brunette smiled, entirely too enthusiastic for someone who was simply coming along to set up some flowers at a wedding. “Well. Almost anything. Anything within the realms of what´s possible to me and not too strange,”

Quinn couldn´t help but laugh. “Under the condition that you tell me your name. I´m Quinn. Fabray, obviously. Quinn Fabray.” She pointed at the sign above the shop window.

_Very smooth._

The brunette´s smile seemed to get even brighter. Seriously, where was she getting all that enthusiasm from? “My name is Rachel, Rachel Berry.”

She held her hand out for Quinn to shake and the moment their hands touched Quinn Fabray knew that she was fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I´m glad there was some interest in the story! It´s really fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! :)

“So is she heterosexual or…?”

Quinn, who had been debating whether or not she could drink enough wine to forget about Rachel all together, raised an eyebrow before finishing her glass. Maybe she could do with one more, just so she would fall asleep easy tonight and not spend hours thinking about those brown eyes.

“She helped me carry a bunch of bouquets, Santana. You can´t tell if someone´s heterosexual from that.” Quinn pointed out and Santana shrugged her shoulders.

“I can. My gaydar is amazing. Let me meet her and I´ll tell you,”

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers, holding back a sigh. Maybe another glass of wine wasn´t such a good idea after all.

“You won´t get to meet her. She´s a customer. And even if she wasn´t heterosexual, that wouldn´t change a thing. She´s getting married.”

“Well that isn´t necessarily…”

Quinn shot her best friend a glare over the edge of her empty glass.

“I think it´s time to go.”

“Oh come on, Quinnie.” Santana gave her the best puppy dog eyes she could manage. Puppy dog eyes that had gotten Quinn to sleep with her in college. Puppy dog eyes and wine. Yes, it was definitely time to go.

“Drinks are on me,” She then added as she pulled her wallet out and left the money on the table, pressing a kiss to Santana´s cheek.

“I´ll call you.” And with that Quinn turned around and walked towards the door, completely ignoring Santana, who was branding her with the nickname _Queen of Denial_ loud enough for everyone, and their mother, to hear.

-

“So you run this place all by yourself?”

Quinn hadn´t paid too much attention to it last time, but Rachel´s accent was definitely American. There were a couple of words that she pronounced in in a British Accent, but overall it was American.

“Yes. Most of the time. Sometimes Aunt Fanny takes over for a couple of hours when I have to get other stuff done.” As Rachel glanced at her Quinn could see the other´s next question in her eyes. “Fanny used to run this shop before she signed it over to me a couple of years ago. She spends most of the summer in Brighton by the sea. She says it´s because of the clean air, but I´m pretty sure she´s having a bit of a tête a tête with the local pub owner _Jerry_.”

Quinn wasn´t even sure why she was telling these things to Rachel. The other woman probably didn´t care about the in depth love life of Quinn´s great aunt. No, she was probably just trying to be polite.

Afraid of the next question being something a little more personal, Quinn instead finished sorting out a bouquet she´d been working on and glanced over at Rachel.

“What do you do for a living?”

She was aware that, if she was going to take this job, she´d eventually have to end up talking about the wedding, which was going to be fine. This was what she did for a living. In the two years since she´d taken over the shop Quinn had done many weddings, even more before she had fully taken over since she didn´t have to run the shop fulltime.

“Oh, I´m a performer. I got my degree from NYADA, the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. I actually just started a new role here on the West End a month ago.” Her smile seemed to get even brighter at those words, if that was possible, and Quinn couldn´t help but smile in return.

“So work brought you to London?” She then asked as she placed the bouquet with the others for future customers to look at and buy.

“Work and love.” Rachel replied with a nod and another smile, though it seemed a little less bright than before.

_You´re imagining things, Quinn, stop._

“I mean, I can perform absolutely anywhere. With my talent I´m welcome at any theatre and it was easier for Finn to work in his stepdads business and then he´ll eventually take it over once Burt retires. He´d rather have it stay in the family.”

The bell above the door rung and their conversation was interrupted by a new customer.

“I need a flower.” He exclaimed as the door fell shut behind him.

“A bouquet?” Quinn asked in a professional, friendly tone. She often had men come into the shop who weren´t big on the flower game, but who had gotten a nudge from their girlfriend or wife that they were In need of a nice gesture, which was usually a bouquet of flowers.

“No. No. Just one flower.” He responded and Quinn felt reassured that this was weird when she caught sight of Rachel, who had an eyebrow raised at the man.

Turning around towards the brunette soon after, however, he gave her a once over. “You. What kind of flowers do you like?”

Rachel, slightly taken aback, looked around and pointed at a bouquet to her left. “Lilies, I like lilies.” She then told him and the man shook his head.

“No. Way too cheerful.”

“Huh?”

“I need something that says ‘ _Here´s the flower you always wanted, even though you´ve always loved that stupid, ridiculously small dog way more than me. Also I want a divorce.”_

Rachel looked like she needed a moment to process the whole thing while Quinn just cocked her head to the side. “How about a cactus?” She offered, her face as serious as ever. “There´s a fine selection over there,” She pointed towards the back of the shop.

“That could work.” He nodded as he headed off and Quinn almost lost it there. She could feel her lips curving into a grin and barely managed to hold back a laugh. The shop wasn´t exactly big and the man potentially hearing her wasn´t something she wanted to risk.

Rachel, who was mirroring the grin on Quinn´s face, stepped a little closer to the counter. “How…unusual.” She chuckled as she shook her head.

“And that´s the polite way of putting it.” Quinn replied with a shake of her head. “I hope he gets pricked by a cactus,”

Rachel couldn´t seem to hold in the laughter that bubbled up her throat and Quinn briefly thought that she had never heard a more infectious laugh and if she wasn´t careful her heart would miss another beat.

“I should probably come back another time.” Rachel eventually spoke up again and suddenly her face lit up a little. “Or you could come and see me! I could get you a ticket to the show! And maybe we can have some drinks afterwards and talk about the flower arrangements.”

Quinn really should have said no, but at the end of the day that would have been childish. She was trying to satisfy a customer here and if Rachel wanted her to come see the show then she would. Quinn had always loved theatre and shows, but she rarely had any time to actually go out since the shop was usually open until 7:30.

“Sure.” She agreed with the best smile she could manage, ignoring the voice in her head that was telling her just how bad of an idea this was.

“Perfect!” Rachel beamed. “Give me your phone, I´ll put in my number. I´ll leave the ticket at the box office for you and then I´ll put your name on the list at the stage door so you won´t have to wait outside while I get ready to come out. Is tomorrow okay?” 

Quinn could only nod as she unlocked her phone and slid it across the counter.

Rachel put her number in with a smile and handed the phone back before leaning across the counter. She was suddenly _very_ close to Quinn, who forgot how to breathe for a moment.

“Maybe don´t sell the poor cactus to the man? It really deserves better.” She whispered with a grin before pulling back and turning towards the door.

Quinn needed a moment to pull herself together before she called out for the other woman.

“Rachel! What am I even watching tomorrow?”

Rachel looked over her shoulder, lips curved into a smile. “Mamma Mia.” She then added before stepping out and letting the door fall shut.

_Mamma Mia,_ Quinn thought. _Here we go again._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I`m having so much fun writing this! I´m glad you guys are enjoying it! :) I also have a playlist for it now. I`ll keep adding to it as I go along.  
> Listen to it here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVeLii5lJFFXz2eIxtTbMkvvJqXtoUkP9

“Q. Long-time no see, I heard you were shagging someone´s wife.”

Looking up and cocking her head to the side Quinn seriously considered throwing a cactus. It would almost be worth the look on the other´s face, but then she thought back to what Rachel had said and she had to pretend that she hadn´t spent the entire morning thinking about how she was going to see the other woman again tonight.

“Hello Puck. Haven´t drowned in a pool yet?” She quipped with a shake of her head.

“Absolutely not. I´m out of the pool business.” Came the response with a grin and Quinn left him to lean over the counter so he could press a kiss to her cheek. Leaning against the counter afterwards he kept the grin on his face and Quinn rolled her eyes.

“Well if you need a job you can do deliveries. I can´t do them unless it´s weddings. Or funerals.”

“Nah I`m good. I got an actual job.” At Quinn´s cocked eyebrow Puck rolled his eyes. “Believe it or not. A mate got me a job in his Dad´s garage. I know how to fix cars.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But back to you shagging someone´s wife. Didn´t take you for the type.”

Quinn was rolling her eyes yet again. “Santana can´t keep anything to herself, can she?” She asked, with a sigh. “And I`m not shagging anyone´s wife. Besides, she´s not anyone´s wife yet. I´m doing the flowers for her wedding, that´s all. I´m not a homewrecker.”

“That sounds…boring. Trust me, shagging someone´s wife isn´t all that bad. It´s pretty great actually. They´re missing something in their marriage and they´re happier than ever to get it from me, and to give something in return.”

Quinn scrunched up her face at his words and really, the throwing a cactus idea didn´t sound all too bad right about now.

“Again: **Not** a homewrecker, Puck.”

“Right, whatever. I`m just saying there´s worse things. You wanna get dinner tonight?” Puck asked, pushing himself away from the counter. “I´m paying.”

“I can´t. I´m busy.” At his raised eyebrow Quinn shook her head. “Work stuff. We can have drinks on the weekend and then you and Santana can bother each other by sticking your noses into the other´s business and not mine. Now get out of my shop unless you want me to throw a cactus at you.”

Puck raised his hands in a defensive gesture, but the grin on his face spoke volumes. “See you on Saturday, Q.”

He turned towards the door and Quinn really, really wanted to throw the cactus.

-

Quinn felt a little out of place at the stage door and between all of those people who were waiting for the performers to come out, while she was trying to make her way towards the guy at the door. She was carrying a bouquet of flowers, because of course she was, and managed to weasel her way through the crowd.

“Hello. My name is Quinn Fabray. I`m here to see Rachel Berry.”

Suddenly Quinn felt a twinge if nerves. What if she had misunderstood Rachel? What if they were supposed to meet at a bar? If she wasn´t on the list after all? She didn´t want to be embarrassed, but it was too late to just turn around and leave. Not without attracting everyone´s attention anyway.

“Alright. Up the stairs, first door on the right.” The man nodded without even pulling out a list to look at, but then Quinn assumed that he probably didn´t have too many people going backstage in one night. She hid her slight blush, which came from being nervous without there even being a reason for it, behind the bouquet as she thanked him for holding the door open.

With each step up the stairs Quinn´s heart seemed to be beating faster and she had absolutely no idea what to do about it. God, she was acting like a lovesick teenager, which hadn´t happened…well. Since she´d been a teenager. And even back then Quinn couldn´t remember ever feeling this way.

Which, in hindsight, should have been a warning sign.

She pushed those thoughts into the back of her mind as she raised her free hand to knock on the door that had Rachel´s name and her role in the musical written on it.

“Quinn!” Rachel´s lips instantly curved into a smile as she opened the door. “Oh, you brought me Lilies?” Her smile seemed to get even brighter and Quinn´s heartrate went up into heights she assumed weren´t healthy anymore.

“Yes, of course. What kind of flower shop owner would I be if I didn´t bring your favourites?” She had known Rachel for three days and yet Quinn was fully aware that she was in trouble. Surely, she was supposed to know her regular clients´ favourite flowers, but Rachel was far from being a regular. The only thing she was to Quinn was _dangerous_.

“Thank you, they´re beautiful. Come on in,” Quinn followed Rachel into her dressing room, which was surprisingly empty. Not that Quinn knew a lot about dressing rooms, but she always assumed that performers had pictures of friends and co-workers on their mirrors or notes they had gotten at the stage door.

Rachel´s performance had been brilliant ( and no, Quinn wasn´t biased at all thank you very much ) and Quinn had been glad for the darkened theatre, because she had absolutely made eye contact with Rachel at the end of _Honey Honey_ and had then proceeded to blush furiously at the lyrics _And now I´m about to see, what you mean to me._

Shutting that memory away Quinn leaned against the wall next to the door while Rachel went to grab a vase for the flowers. No, Rachel´s performance couldn´t be the reason for the lack of notes and decoration in this place.

“The show was great,” Quinn smiled as she watched Rachel take the pin curls out of her hair. It had been a little strange to see her with a blonde wig, but Quinn had gotten used to it soon enough and her angelic voice had been very distracting anyway.

Rachel hadn´t been exaggerating when she had called herself talented. It wasn´t like Quinn had outright thought that she was lying, but she had met enough people who liked to talk big without being able to back up their words.

“I´m glad you enjoyed it,” Rachel beamed as Quinn´s and her eyes met in the mirror. “It´s such a feel good show, I love performing in it.” She pulled out the last pin curl and grabbed a brush to run it through her hair. Quinn only knew Rachel with straight hair, but she had to admit that there was something about those curls. Something that made Quinn want to run her hands through them.

_Absolutely not._

Shaking her head Quinn pushed herself off the wall. “Did you have a place in mind where we can go?” She then asked in an attempt to distract herself from Rachel´s curls.

“Oh. I meant to look for one, but then we had to squeeze in an extra rehearsal for someone who had the premiere of his new track today,” Rachel replied apologetically.

“Don´t worry, I know just the place around the corner.”

-

Santana had often dragged her to the _Radio Rooftop._ The building was technically a hotel, but the rooftop bar was open to anyone and while it was a usual bar the whole atmosphere was a little less crowded and it was overall way more comfortable than a normal bar.

Quinn had scored them two seats on one of the couches in the corner and Rachel seemed to enjoy herself. Quinn imagined a show like this to be tyring, especially if there were two performances in a day, but Rachel seemed to still be beaming.

“Virgin for me,” She held up her cocktail with a smile. “I´m not big of a drinker. Never have been. Not since the _Everything Tastes Like Pink_ incident in High School.” She let out a chuckle.

“Do I dare to ask?” Quinn replied with a smile, pretending like she didn´t want to know everything there was to know about Rachel.

“I´ll tell you someday.”

“I´ll look forward to it.” Quinn took a sip of her wine and placed the glass onto the table. This was…nice. She hadn´t been out with anyone that wasn´t Santana in a while and it was nice to have an actual conversation for once without being berated.

“Quinnie!”

_Oh God, Santana._

The thing was, Quinn knew this was Santana´s go to bar, but she hadn´t expected her to be here on a Thursday night. It might not have been obvious, but even Santana had a job she had to attend. Most of the time anyway.

Still, right about now Quinn actually considered throwing herself off the rooftop. That would probably still be less painful than being caught in the middle of _this._

“Drinks, without me? You´re lucky I haven´t disowned you on the spot,” Santana seated herself on the back of the couch, one arm thrown around Quinn.

“Hi. I´m Santana Lopez. You must be Rachel. You´re welcome,”

Rachel, who seemed to be slightly surprised by the direction this evening was going in, frowned. “ _You´re welcome_ for…what?”

Quinn was torn between blushing, because it was obvious that she´d been talking about Rachel to other people, and actually throwing Santana off the roof. Knowing her she´d probably walk away unscathed.

“For meeting me, of course. It must be a pleasure for you. It always is for people,” Santana threw her a smile and Quinn rolled her eyes.

“This is a business meeting, Santana. Please leave?” She was trying to be polite, which she really thought she was doing quite well all considering she´d been thinking about murdering Santana just a minute ago.

“Boring.” Santana waved her hands, “I´ll get some drinks. Don´t forget, you promised drinks on Saturday, too, Puck told me.” She ruffled a hand through Quinn´s hair just to annoy her before hopping off the back of the couch.

“See you later, Quinnie.”

And with that she was off into the crowd and at least Quinn wouldn´t go to jail for murder.

“Is Puck…your boyfriend?” Rachel eventually asked, picking up her drink again. She fiddled with the straw for a moment and Quinn shook her head.

“God no.” She replied. “I´m…sorry about that. Santana can be a bit much.” _Too much._

“Oh, no. It´s alright. This is the most interesting business meeting I´ve had so far,” She offered Quinn a smile, who then felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

It was a text from Santana.

_Quinnie,_ it read. _That woman´s not just heterosexual, she´s Barbie heterosexual. You´re welcome. xoxo San_

It was all Quinn could do to hold back a sigh.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Hopefully people are still interested! :)

Quinn had somehow managed to ignore Santana´s texts for the rest of the night. Of course that had only made things worse, because by the end of the night she had about 40 texts from her so called best friend and Quinn had seriously considered just turning her phone off.

Somehow Rachel and her had still managed to talk about the general direction the flower decoration should be going into and Quinn had taken some notes. It wasn´t exactly extravagant, though Rachel´s wedding wasn´t going to be a small one. She´d invited what to Quinn sounded like half of her High School and College friends and apparently her fathers had no problem paying for it all.

Quinn had never really thought about getting married. Surely, it was possible ever since the laws had changed, but she hadn´t found someone that was worth even considering marriage for. Her parents hadn´t exactly been a prime example for a good marriage either and whenever her father had brought one of the younger male employees from his law firm to dinner, someone her mother had called _`the perfect candidate for a son in law`,_ Quinn had dug up every last bit of self-control she could manage so she wouldn´t just straight up leave the house to never return again.

That had all been years ago though and Quinn tried not to think about it too much, but at the same time she hadn´t thought about getting married either.

At least not until Rachel had come along.

Not because she wanted to marry Rachel. Obviously. But because Rachel was getting married.

Letting out a frustrated sigh Quinn closed her eyes, but that wasn´t helping. It only brought back the memories of Rachel on stage, making eye contact with her and Quinn´s heart galloping off into very unhealthy territory.

When her phone eventually began to vibrate she grabbed it from the nightstand and answered without even glancing at the display.

“Santana. For the last time: I don´t care if you think she´s barbie heterosexual and just HOW good your gaydar is. Stop texting me every five minutes.”

“Bad day, Darling?” Aunt Fanny´s voice echoed back from the other end of the line and Quinn pulled the phone from her ear to look at the display.

_Damn it._

“I´m sorry Fanny, I thought you were someone else.” She sighed, shaking her head as she sat up in bed. “It´s past 1am though, why aren´t you in bed?”

“Quinn, dear, I am old, but not dead.” Fanny replied. “Jerry and I are having a glass of wine before we retire to bed.”

_Oh great_ , Quinn thought, _my great aunt has a better love life than me._

“Are you alright though? You seemed…upset.”

“Annoyed is the word. Santana´s been bugging me all night. But nothing to worry about.” Really, Santana might have been a little annoying, but she wasn´t the one Quinn was worried about. Still, she didn´t want Fanny to know that.

“And…do you want to talk about the girl Santana called barbie heterosexual?”

_Oh God no._

“It´s nothing. Just…a bet Puck and her have going on. You know they do those kind of things all the time. And they want to convince me to play along, but I´m not into it.” Quinn answered, hoping it would steer the conversation away from Rachel.

That woman had been taking up entirely too much space in her life considering she´d only been around for a few days.

“Good. I´ve just been meaning to check in. If you want to talk I`m just a call away. I hope you know that?”

“Of course, thank you. I´ll let you get back to Jerry.” A laugh came from the other end of the line and Fanny hung up while Quinn sighed. She hated the fact that she wasn´t telling Fanny the truth, because she had always been there for Quinn, had even taken her in when she had decided not to return to Ohio. But what would she even be telling her? The whole thing was a crush that she couldn´t shake, a crush that would be over the minute Quinn was done doing the flowers for Rachel´s wedding. Surely, this probably happened to people every day, but crushing on someone who was taken? No, that wasn´t something Quinn was proud of and surely not something she wanted to talk about.

When her phone vibrated again, with a text message this time, she made sure to glance at the display and when she spotted Rachel´s name, with a little gold star next to it, she almost dropped the phone.

“Honestly Quinn…” She mumbled to herself as she opened the message, trying to ignore the way her heart missed another beat.

_I had a lovely night! :) Do you want to come by for dinner tomorrow? You could meet Finn and we could tell him about the general idea for the flowers! xo Rachel._

_Does he care?_ Quinn wanted to text back, but then stopped herself. She didn´t know Finn, he was probably a sweet guy. Someone that would fit in with Rachel. Someone who was perfect for her.

Quinn sighed and buried her face in the pillow, but not without typing

_Sure, I´d love to. :)_

And pressing **_send._**

-

If Santana knew where Quinn was going she´d have a field trip. She was glad that her best friend hadn´t texted her since last night and she wasn´t planning on taking any calls from her, or telling her where she was going.

Besides, this was basically a business dinner. She´d be meeting the groom and they´d be talking about what kind of flowers they´d want for the wedding. Otherwise she wouldn´t have accepted the invite.

Quinn had caught herself humming _Honey Honey_ more than once already and eventually forced herself to just not hum at all as she parked her car on the opposite side of the street where Rachel lived. The house was cute, fitting for someone who was ready to settle down and have kids playing in the front yard. Quinn pushed that thought aside as she picked up the bouquet of flowers she had brought along. It didn´t consist of lilies alone, mainly because that was reserved for Rachel, they were her favourites after all. She had mixed a couple of roses in as well, since those were easily recognizable for most people and they fit the whole wedding theme. Besides, this bouquet was for both Rachel and her fiancé after all.

Raising her free hand to ring the bell Quinn waited, a smile on her face. It wasn´t entirely real, but she had perfected those kind of smiles over the years and they were surprisingly easy to put on.

When the door was opened and Rachel came into view Quinn´s smile briefly slipped into something else, something more real, but the moment she could see another person behind her Quinn´s stomach dropped to her knees.

“Quinn, come on in! I`m so glad you could make it!”

Quinn´s feet almost automatically took her into the house and she smiled as Rachel took the flowers from her.

“Oh those are beautiful, you didn´t have to.” Rachel beamed. “I´m going to get a vase.”

Quinn watched her disappear down the corridor and then glanced up at Finn, who had his hand stretched out. “I´m Finn, nice to meet you. Rach talks about you all the time.” He grinned as he nodded down the corridor. “I don´t know much about flowers, but she says you´re the best and I trust her judgement,”

“The best,” Quinn repeated as she took the offered hand and shook it before following Finn towards the dining room. She wasn´t bad, by all means, but Rachel hadn´t seen much of her work yet and here she was, calling her _The Best_. Quinn really shouldn´t be as flattered as she was right now.

She had barely sat down on one of the chairs as Rachel returned with the bouquet in a vase, placing the whole thing on the nearest free surface, her lips still curved into a smile.

“The best, hm?” Quinn couldn´t help but say as she glanced at the other woman, but before Rachel could reply the doorbell rang again and ended the little moment they had been about to share.

“Is anyone else coming?” Quinn found herself asking and Finn and Rachel shared a look.

“Yes. I´ll be right back!” Rachel grinned as she headed for the door and Quinn had a feeling that she wasn´t going to like whatever was going to happen next. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, did anyone guess who was the mystery guest? :P

Quinn could hear Rachel coming back through the corridor, with someone else following her, and she forced herself to calm down. How bad could this be? The best case scenario was Rachel having invited her maid of honour to help with the flower picking. Finn, bless his heart, didn´t seem like he knew a lot about flowers, or color coordination for that matter.

The worst case scenario, well that would have been…

_Puck?_

Quinn was rather proud of herself for not blurting out his name the moment he appeared in the door frame, Rachel next to him, her lips curved into a smile. Puck didn´t call her out either, which Quinn was more than glad about, but his face showed the same surprise as hers.

She quickly managed to get her face in order though. The last thing she needed was Rachel finding out that she actually knew the person she had just brought along.

“Quinn, meet Noah.” Rachel smiled. “Noah, this is Quinn. You know, I´ve told you about her.” Puck looked slightly confused and while Quinn wasn´t doubting that Rachel had talked about her she assumed Puck hadn´t really listened. “Quinn is going to do the flowers for Finn and my wedding and Noah works with Finn at the garage,”

Quinn remembered Puck talking about it and just nodded. “Well, it´s nice to meet you. I didn´t know you were coming.”

“Yes, I apologize for that,” Rachel added and really, it was hard to be annoyed with her when she looked so cute. Shaking her head Quinn pushed that thought aside. She really needed to get a grip on herself! “But he´s the best man, so I thought I´d be nice to have him here if we talk about flowers.”

It was clear neither Finn nor Puck knew a lot about flowers, or really cared for that matter. Quinn knew as much about Puck, so he was here for an entirely different reason. A reason Quinn liked even less than having to discuss flowers for a wedding with one of her closest friends, pretending she didn’t know who he was.

“We´re going serve dinner,” Rachel nodded, nudging Finn towards the door. “You guys just…sit here and wait. We´ll be right back.”

They shuffled through the door and towards the kitchen while Puck made a face at Quinn. “Okay, you didn´t tell me you were screwing my friend´s wife. Not cool.”

Quinn seriously considered hitting Puck over the head with a vase and burying him in the backyard, but she probably didn´t have enough time for that. “Puck. For the last time, I am not screwing anyone in this house.”

“And you don´t want to, either?”

“God no.” Quinn was glad that she´d learned to lie, or…pretend was maybe the better word for it, at a very young age. “I´m just doing the flowers.” She blew a strand of hair from her face and sighed. “But they don´t need to know that we know each other, alright?”

God if Santana found out about this they´d never hear the end of it.

“Good, because Finn really loves that woman. Talks about her constantly at work. Almost a little annoying if I`m being honest,”

Quinn could feel her heart sink at that, even though she had known Finn and Rachel were in love.

_Of course they are, they´re getting married,_ she reminded herself as she tried to close herself off to those kind of feelings. This was a crush, she simply found Rachel attractive, which didn´t mean that she was instantly imagining a life with her.

Before Quinn could say anything else to Puck, however, Rachel came back into the room, still smiling. Funny enough Quinn thought that, for a moment, it was a different kind of smile than the one she had seen when she´d gone backstage at her show. Rachel had been beaming and her eyes had gleamed as she had greeted Quinn and asked her about the show.

She didn´t get to think about it anymore though, because Rachel was babbling on about how they had ordered some Chinese food, because neither Finn nor her were great cooks and Puck only commented with “Cool, I dig Chinese,” so Quinn wasn´t going to complain. She enjoyed take out as much as the next person and with how Rachel and Finn, or more Rachel she assumed, had set the food up on plates and in bowls it really didn´t look like ordered food at all.

“I hope you guys got to talk a bit,” Rachel nodded as she settled at the table along with Finn. “Noah started working with Finn and they immediately got along, which is why he was promoted to best man status,”

“Well technically that was because you stole my first best man,” Finn interjected and Quinn, who had a fork with food halfway up to her mouth, stopped.

“You…stole his best man?” She then asked, raising an eyebrow, because there were a lot of routes this could go down.

“Oh don´t make it sound that dramatic, Finn.” Rachel waved her chopsticks at him before turning to Quinn. “He was eventually going to ask his step brother, Kurt, but Kurt is my best friend,” she then explained. “So I asked him to be my maid of honour first.”

Quinn chuckled with a nod. “A male maid of honour, why not?” She then agreed and for a moment she almost forgot that they were talking about the wedding of someone she had a crush on. Which it definitely was, a crush and nothing more.

“See, I told you it was perfectly normal.” Rachel chipped in again and this time the words were directed at Finn, who couldn´t answer because he´d stuffed his mouth with a spring roll. So instead he just nodded. “Besides, Kurt knows a lot about decoration and fashion. And color coordination.”

“Yeah that guy is pretty good at that stuff,” Puck agreed. “He´s even doing Rachel´s dress for the wedding,”

And there it was again, the wedding.

Quinn picked up some fried rice with her fork and swallowed it down. “Well…maybe I should talk to Kurt about the flowers too, then.” Her eyes wandered from Puck to Rachel and then to Finn. It all made sense, she wasn´t here to talk about flowers, she was here to be set up for a date and somehow that hurt more than it should have.

-

Dinner was spent talking about anything other than flowers, apart than the ones Quinn had brought along, so when they were done Puck and Finn ended up taking the dishes into the kitchen to get some cake that Puck had brought, and probably bought at the nearest supermarket.

Quinn had stepped out onto the terrace, turning to look at the sky. The sun was slowly setting and the wind was rustling the trees. It was colder than she had anticipated and colder than it should be considering it was the middle of June. She almost didn´t notice Rachel stepping out next to her then, but the other woman had a presence that simply couldn´t be ignored for too long.

“Do you think they´ll manage to cut the cake in even pieces?” Quinn eventually spoke and Rachel replied with a chuckle before looking at Quinn.

“God, you must be cold. I`m sorry. I should have offered a jacket.” She made an attempt to peel herself out of her own and Quinn wasn´t quick enough to protest.

“It´s fine, honestly, I could have brought one when I…” But by the time she had finished the sentence Rachel had already wrapped the jacket around Quinn´s shoulders and for a moment they were so close that she could smell the other woman´s perfume. She absolutely hated herself for the reaction, but Quinn couldn´t help but feel her knees go weak. She was so out of it that, for a moment, she actually imagined Rachel leaning in a little closer.

“Hey, the cake´s ready!” Finn, who had poked his head out through the half opened glass door, gave them a wave and Quinn came back to herself.

God, what was she even doing?

“Thanks.” She muttered and attempted a smile. Rachel stood facing her still, mirroring the smile she was given.

“Of course. And about the cake,” She added, “It might not be evenly cut but…Noah is a good guy. Works hard. I hope you´re not mad that I invited him.”

Quinn shook her head. “No, I`m not mad.” Surprised, yes, absolutely, but Quinn had a feeling that she couldn´t be mad at Rachel, even if she tried.

“About that though…”

“Puck´s already eaten half the cake!” Finn called again and Rachel turned her head, nodding.

“We´ll be right in!” She called and then turned her attention back to Quinn. “You were saying?”

But the moment had passed. She´d most likely never see Rachel again after this job was done, so there was no reason to talk to her about something as intimate as her sexuality. They weren´t friends, right? And they weren´t going to be friends after this, but God forbid she´d ever make out with Noah Puckerman again.

“Nothing.” Quinn replied with a smile. “Let´s see if we can get some cake still.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally had some time to finish the next chapter. I hope you´re enjoying this story as much as I am! :)

“You look like a love sick puppy.”

Puck was late and Santana was entirely too absorbed in Quinn´s non-existent love life. It probably wasn´t helping that her best friend was about three drinks in already either.

“I do not.” Quinn replied as calmly as possible while she sipped on her Margarita. She wasn´t planning on getting drunk tonight, even if it was probably something she could use. Still, she couldn´t risk drunk texting Rachel something stupid and eliminating that possibility entirely was the best option here.

“Is this still about that the barbie heterosexual girl? Which you never got back to me about, by the way.” Santana waved her free hand around and shook her head. “Rude.”

“Because there´s nothing to get back to you about. She´s a client. I think you´re more invested in her sexuality than I am.” This entire evening was going into a direction Quinn had hoped to avoid and she really didn´t want to talk about Rachel. Or the feelings she had for her. Especially not if Puck was going to be around. The last thing she needed was Puck telling Finn, who´d tell Rachel, who´d probably cancel the whole order and never look at Quinn again. Not that she was planning on seeing her again after the wedding was done, but still. She´d much rather save herself the embarrassment.

Santana finished her drink, shaking her head. “No. She´s not my type.” She then waved off Quinn´s accusation. “I´m also not into women who are getting married,”

This Margarita was too expensive to throw it at Santana, wasn´t it?

-

Quinn woke up with a headache the next day, though she had a slight suspicion that it wasn´t from that one drink she´s had. Puck had joined them around 10 o´clock, mumbling something about having to organize a stag night and really, this was never going to stop, was it?

The shop was open on Sundays, even if only for a couple of hours. Quinn had found that people often came looking for fresh bouquets for birthdays or as a present to bring along for dinner invites. Besides, it wasn´t like her social life was peaking right about now and before she went to another gathering where Santana was judging her for her life choices and Puck kept talking about a wedding she didn´t want to hear about, Quinn would rather spend her Sunday in the little flower shop.

By 11 she´d sold a couple of bouquets and was about to put together another one when the phone rang. Leaning back Quinn picked it up and held it between her ear and shoulder while she continued to work on the bouquet.

“ _Fabray´s Flowers_ , how can I help you?”

“Quinn? This is Finn. You know? Rachel´s fiancé? I was gonna apologize for springing that whole thing with Puck on you. It was Rachel´s idea, she thought you two would get along. He´s a nice guy though.”

Oh Puck was a nice guy, if you neglected the fact that he had absolutely no problem sleeping with married women. That wasn´t the thought on Quinn´s mind though, but the fact that Rachel had initiated the whole thing.

_Of course she has,_ She thought to herself, trying to ignore the way her heart seemed to crack a little more with each passing moment. _Why wouldn´t she?_

Quinn should have probably felt flattered that Rachel considered her a somewhat friend, or at least friend enough to want her around, even if it was as Puck´s girlfriend.

“But aside from that I was gonna to ask you something else.” Finn´s voice pulled her from her thoughts and Quinn dropped one of the Gardenias she´d been holding onto the counter.

“Yes?”

“So Puck´s planned this stag night for me next Friday. He wouldn´t tell me where we´re going, but we´re staying overnight, and I was gonna ask if you could maybe keep Rachel company? She´s got one of those things…you know where she´s not performing.”

“An Off show?” Quinn replied almost automatically, because the extent of what that question meant hadn´t fully reached her mind yet.

“Yes, that.” Finn agreed on the other end of the line. “Her double…”

“Understudy,”

“Yes. Right. That woman has her last show so Rachel´s letting her go on, which means she´s at home on Friday. Would you mind taking her out somewhere? Or whatever it is you girls like to do.”

“Well…I don´t know if…”

“Please? I know it would mean a lot to her. She talks about you all the time. Stuff like…you´re soulmates or something. That you´ve met before.”

And really, that alone shouldn´t have been enough to convince Quinn to say yes to something that could only end in disaster for her, but here she was and she absolutely hated herself for being so easy to convince, especially since Finn probably hadn´t really tried yet.

“Well. I´d be happy to keep her company,” She then eventually replied, her fingers tying the bouquet together with ease. “Let her know I´ll pick her up at 5 on Friday.”

“Really? Awesome! Thank you so much. You´re a real MVP.” Quinn could practically hear Finn smiling all the way through the phone and it wasn´t really helping her feel any better about the current situation. She could only hope Puck was taking him to a strip club of some sorts.

“Have fun at the stag night,” She pushed the thought away as she hung up, glancing down at the bouquet.

Quinn had added some of the Gardenias upside down.

-

Quinn spent the entire next week avoiding Puck and Santana, mainly through working non-stop. She took more jobs than needed and even left the shop open longer than usual, because it meant she didn´t have time to worry about seeing Rachel on Friday. Outside of work.

They´d talked about the flower arrangements for the wedding during dinner last week and Quinn had all the details she needed. In fact Rachel had trusted her to do the right thing with the guidelines given and while Quinn already had a basic concept it wasn´t something she enjoyed working on.

For obvious reasons.

When 5 o´clock on Friday rolled around Quinn had already been sitting in her car for half an hour. She´d spent an hour contemplating her outfit and style choices, having eventually settled for slight curls and red lipsticks with a simple jeans and shirt.

She had managed to calm her heartbeat down just a little when she eventually stood in front of Rachel´s door, ringing the bell. A few moments passed before the other woman appeared, a bright smile on her face. She was wearing black jeans and a green blouse with white dots all over it. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and Quinn needed a moment to process the whole look.

Rachel was gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous, to be exact, and Quinn was in trouble.

“Hi! Nice to see you,” She wrapped her arms around Quinn who, in a moment of brightness, managed to do the same to avoid awkwardness. “I hope I´m not over or underdressed. Finn didn´t tell me where we were going,”

Quinn resisted the urge to bite her lip as they pulled apart. “That´s because I didn´t tell him.” She then explained with a smile. “But you look great, so no need to worry. Are you ready?”

For a moment Quinn thought that Rachel might have blushed at the compliment, but then again it was a warm summer evening and probably even warmer inside the house where she was coming from.

“All set,” Rachel replied with a smile as she grabbed her bag and closed the door behind herself before following Quinn to the car.

-

“A football game?” Rachel asked as they weaved their way through the crowds and into the small stadium. The tone in her voice wasn´t judging, just generally curious, and so Quinn nodded.

“My ex is the captain of the home team. They´re playing one of their biggest rivals today, so it´s going to be a fun game.” Sam had given her the tickets a couple of weeks ago, telling her she could bring whoever she wanted. Unless it was Puck, because the last time Quinn had taken Puck he´d tried to convince half the team to switch sides and sleep with him.

Huffing at the memory Quinn bought a bag of popcorn and then lead them to their seats in the stands. “Have you ever been to a game?”

Rachel shook her head as she settled next to the other woman, bag safely placed on her lap. “No. I´m really more of a theatre person. Finn sometimes watches the Arsenal game on tv, but that´s usually on when I´ve got a show so,” Noticing Quinn´s eyes on her she quickly added. “But I`m sure this is going to be fun.” Her lips curved into a smile then and Quinn was glad they were sitting, because she could feel her knees getting weak.

She eventually opened the bag of popcorn and held it out to Rachel, who reached into it, but then stopped midway. She seemed to have noticed something on the field and when Quinn turned to look she could see the teams coming out to do their warm up.

Rachel seemed…confused and a moment later Quinn could literally see the change of emotion on her face. From confused to somewhat mortified.

“This is…women´s football?” She then asked, even though the question didn´t need to be answered, considering all the women on the field. “And…when you said your ex…you meant…”

Now it was beginning to dawn on Quinn and she was painfully reminded of how Finn had interrupted their conversation about her sexuality last week with talk about cake.

“Yes, huh. Sam. She´s the Blonde over there, right by the goal.”

Whatever Quinn had expected, Rachel beginning to laugh surely hadn´t been it.

“I´m sorry.” She eventually managed, her cheeks tinted pink and the corners of her eyes crinkling. “God, I am so sorry. I didn´t know…and I´m stupid enough to try and play matchmaker with you and Puck.” She shook her head and Quinn might have been a little too mesmerized by the sight of Rachel blushing, so that she almost missed her cue to reply.

“No. You couldn´t know. I never said anything. If I had known you were trying to set me up…I tried telling you that night but…I think I missed the right time frame for it.”

“Honestly. I am so sorry.”

“Don´t be. It´s fine, really.”

Rachel was still smiling as their eyes met and Quinn could feel her heart beating hard against her ribcage. For a moment the world around them seemed to slow down and it was only the loud whistling, which indicated the start of the game, which broke the spell.

Quinn brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned towards the field and away from Rachel, while trying not to focus on her racing heart.

Oh she wasn´t even in too deep. Quinn had somehow hurled herself off a cliff at full speed, past the point of no return, and the worst part of it all was: If she had the chance to do it again, she´d wouldn´t change a thing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, finally the song. :P  
> Thanks to everyone who´s been reading so far and a special shout out to the people who leave such lovely comments!

The second half of the game had just started and maybe Quinn was getting a little too into the whole football thing. She was usually a rather quiet person, but one of the players from the opposite team had tripped Sam multiple times within the first few minutes of the second half and Quinn was starting to get annoyed.

“You know, you´re kind if shrill?” Rachel´s voice interrupted Quinn´s yelling and she frowned.

“Shrill?” She then asked, because honestly, Quinn considered her voice anything but shrill. Still, she had been yelling quite a lot with little to no effect.

“Yes. If you want them to hear your… _abuse_ , you need to project it.”

Right. Project the abuse. Maybe that was going to help her get over her frustrations regarding Rachel.

“Teach me?” Quinn eventually spoke and Rachel´s smile seemed to get even brighter.

“Alright. First you need to tighten your stomach muscles.”

“I don´t think I´ve got any.” A chuckle fell from Quinn´s lips and Rachel joined in, shaking her head.

“Of course you do, they´re right here,” reaching out she put her hand against Quinn´s stomach, who absolutely wasn´t prepared for that.

_Huh._ She could feel her heart missing a beat and was, once again, grateful for having been part of show choir and drama club in High School. She hadn´t pursued a career in it, but it definitely came in handy now.

“Good, tighten them. And now broaden your diaphragm.”

Another chuckle was about to tumble from Quinn´s lips, but got stuck in her throat as Rachel moved her hand even higher up her stomach. “Can you feel my hand?” the Brunette asked with a smile and Quinn merely nodded. “Mhm…maybe if you put them both there?” Her voice was a little too breathless, but she hoped that Rachel would be too absorbed into teaching her how to project her abuse to notice.

“Of course.” Moving to stand behind her, Rachel reached around and pressed her hands to Quinn´s stomach again, basically hugging her from behind and yes. Quinn was absolutely going to lose it any minute now. Or would have anyways, if it hadn´t been for Rachel´s next words.

“And now for the big one: Imagine the roof of your mouth is a cathedral.”

Quinn couldn´t quite hold back the giggle that escaped her lips then and almost immediately regretted it, when Rachel let go off her.

“I´m sorry,” she chuckled still. “You had me, the muscles, the diaphragm. But a cathedral?”

Rachel was rolling her eyes, though her lips were still curved into a smile. “Trust me. I´ve been to college for this. It´s a space thing,” She then explained. “Your mouth is that big, you have to fill it with sound. From deep down. You need to fill the space and then throw it out. Project it.”

“Like…how?” Honestly, Quinn was having a hard time trying to focus on anything other than Rachel right now. Especially not on imagining the roof of her mouth to be a cathedral.

“Like this,” Rachel turned towards the field and before Quinn could say anything else, she was doing what she´d been trying to teach Quinn.

**_“YOU´RE A WANKER NUMBER NINE!”_ **

Her voice rang across the entire stadium and the girl who´d been tripping Sam stopped and turned around to look at whoever had called her out. Rachel´s cheeks were tinted pink, but she was still smiling.

Quinn was in awe. And possibly in love. And also fucked.

-

“I have to admit that this was more fun than I would have expected it to be.”

Sam´s team had won and Quinn had quickly congratulated her before guiding Rachel out of the stadium. Sam and her had been close, and even if they didn´t see each other much these days, Quinn knew that the other Blonde would be able to tell that something was up and Quinn already had her hands full with Santana and Puck.

“Did you think I was going to take you out just to bore you?” She replied with a chuckle and Rachel was quick to shake her head as they walked down the street alongside each other.

“No. I just didn´t think I could enjoy football this much,” Rachel replied earnestly. “But how about now we do something I will definitely enjoy? No doubt whatsoever.”

Raising an eyebrow Quinn slowly nodded, and before she could even reply Rachel´s eyes had lit up and she had reached for the other´s hand, pulling her along.

Quinn, who was still focused on trying to slow her heartbeat down, had half expected to be dragged into another show or to see a play, and she would have been fine with that, but she hadn’t actually expected to be part of the show this time.

Rachel was still holding onto her hand, and dragging her through the small venue they had entered. Some of the tables were occupied with people having drinks and talking while the rest of the guests seemed to have settled down at the bar.

“Karaoke?” She then asked, spotting the stage and the two microphone stands while the butterflies in her stomach went wild. Rachel wanted to sing with her, possibly, and Quinn wasn´t quite sure if she could handle that. One look at the other woman´s radiant smile, however, and Quinn was done for. Of course she wasn´t going to say no, besides: Rachel had already pulled her onto the stage.

“I´ll pick one at random,” Rachel beamed and Quinn was suddenly, and yet again, very thankful for the time she had spent in show choir. The first few notes of the familiar song were already playing and Rachel was swaying along while Quinn almost forgot to grab the microphone.

_“Imagine me and you, I do_  
_I think about you day and night, it's only right_  
 _To think about the girl you love and hold her tight_  
 _So happy together,”_

The thing was, Quinn knew that Rachel could sing. She had seen her perform, but it was an entirely different thing to share the stage with her. It felt like Rachel´s words were directed at her, even though that was absolutely impossible, but Quinn couldn´t help it. There Rachel was, singing and smiling, waiting for Quinn to join in and how could she not?

_“If I should call you up, invest a dime_  
_And you say you belong to me and ease my mind_  
 _Imagine how the world could be, so very fine_  
 _So happy together, “_

Quinn´s voice was great. She had sung a few solos back in the day, but these days she mainly sung to herself in the shower, or quietly while working around the shop. Rachel seemed to be pleasantly surprised, however, because her entire face lit up even more, if that was possible.

_“I can't see me lovin' nobody but you_  
_For all my life_  
 _When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue_  
 _For all my life,”_

Meanwhile they had caught the attention of almost every guest at the bar, and people were clapping along while Quinn took a step closer to Rachel without even thinking about it. Her skin seemed to be vibrating and she hadn´t felt like this in…well maybe she´d never actually felt this way and maybe that was a problem, but right there and then, on that small stage with Rachel, it didn´t matter to her.

_“Me and you and you and me_  
_No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be_  
 _The only one for me is you, and you for me_  
 _So happy together,”_

Rachel was radiating happiness and they were close enough to touch. Quinn even debated how close too close would be, but Rachel took that decision from her a moment later. Reaching out for the other woman´s hand she pulled her close so they were face to face and only a microphone length apart. If she hadn´t been singing, Quinn could have kissed Rachel and for a moment, with her heart straight up beating out of her chest, Quinn thought that Rachel might have let her.

_“So happy together_  
_We're happy together_  
 _So happy together_  
 _Happy together,”_

It would have been a terrible idea though, and she was reading too much into it, but it felt like the rest of the world fell away in that moment Quinn could almost pretend that she wasn´t planning the flower arrangements for Rachel´s wedding.

_“So happy together  
So happy together,”_

Holding the last note they both eventually finished and Quinn was pulled back into reality by the applause.

“Wow.” Rachel whispered and Quinn could only nod before she was grabbed by the hand again and turned towards the audience. Giving a quick bow with Rachel, she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, before quickly stepping off the stage and letting go of the other woman´s hand.

“I didn´t know you could sing that well,” Rachel mused with a soft smile and Quinn let out a chuckle.

“And yet you dragged me to karaoke.” She replied. “I must have ruined your plans, if you were trying to embarrass me,” Quinn was teasing, of course, but luckily Rachel seemed to catch on.

“Well I am glad that I´ve found such a great duet partner.”

Quinn wasn´t sure how she was still standing upright, considering how fast her heart was beating in her chest. She had already thought of a reply when she was, yet again, interrupted by someone.

“Rachel, what a stellar performance. As always. Don´t you want to introduce me to your new…friend?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes...the lily. *cries in a corner*
> 
> Anyway, I made myself cry a little with this one. Ahem. Thank you to everyone for sticking around and leaving comments, it honestly means the world to me! x

“Kurt.”

Quinn could see the surprise on Rachel´s features. The corners of her lips were turning upwards though, so it didn´t seem to be an unpleasant surprise.

“Thank you! Of course, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my best friend, Kurt.”

Quinn turned her attention back to the man and, in a moment of quick thinking, extended her hand.

“Ah, so you´re the flower lady Rachel keeps gushing about,”

“And you´re the guy I should be talking about the flower arrangements with.” The name had instantly rung a bell with her and Quinn remembered Rachel talking about Kurt. He seemed to be flattered, because his lips curved into a smile as he took the offered hand.

“Probably, yes. Maybe Blaine, though. I´m more in charge of the wedding dress and the bridesmaids dress coordination.”

Quinn had managed to not think about the whole wedding thing too much, but it was probably good that Kurt had reminded her of it. She could have as much fun with Rachel as she wanted to, but at the end of the day the Brunette was going to get married and Quinn was going to have to deal with a broken heart. She managed to keep the smile on her face though. Spending years and years pretending she was fine, when really she wasn´t, was coming in handy for once.

“What are you doing here Kurt? I thought you were out on the stag night with the boys?” Rachel seemed to have caught up with her thoughts, and the conversation, and now the confusion had replaced her initial surprise.

“We went to the dinner Noah organized. It was…nice, but then they went off to focus on the rest of the _entertainment._ Which I am fairly sure is code for strip club, and I am entirely too gay for that.”

_Maybe I should have gone with Finn and Puck_ , Quinn thought to herself. At least she would have been able to see half naked girls, but then again that had never really been her style, and the truth was: She wouldn´t trade this evening with Rachel for anything, which probably meant that it was time to go home.

“Is Blaine here too?” Something in Rachel´s voice had changed, it sounded…deflated and Quinn couldn´t help but turn to look at her. Kurt didn´t seem to have noticed anything, but the spark from Rachel´s eyes was gone. Quinn wondered if it was because of the whole strip club thing. She had never seen the appeal in it, but if anyone was going to drag someone to a strip club on a stag night then it was Puck.

Quinn respected those dancers, Santana had dragged her to a pole dance class once, and it had been significantly harder than expected, but she wouldn´t need to go see a show if she had someone at home, especially someone like Rachel.

Pushing that thought aside she turned back to Kurt, who was talking about how Blaine had just gone to the bathroom. From the ongoing conversation she assumed that Blaine was Kurt´s boyfriend or fiancé, maybe. Was everyone around her in a happy relationship? Excluding Puck and Santana, of course. Maybe that was why she still spent time with them, even though she regularly wanted to throw them out the window.

“Rachel, so nice to see you here!” A darker haired man had made his way to them in between the tables and wrapped his arms around Rachel in a hug. Quinn assumed that it was Blaine, and the whole boyfriend ordeal was confirmed when he wrapped an arm around Kurt before extending a hand towards Quinn.

“I´m Blaine. Nice to meet you. I saw your performance, you have a great voice! If the schedule at Rachel´s wedding wasn´t already so full I´d say you definitely have to do a song there!” His smile turned Quinn´s own lips into one without her even wanting to.

“Oh don´t worry. I´m already doing the flowers. So I´m pretty booked. I`m Quinn, by the way.” She took the offered hand and a realization seemed to pass across Blaine´s face.

“Oh yes, the flower lady.” He nodded with a smile. “Rachel talks about your bouquets all the time. She sent me a picture of the one you brought to her show. It was gorgeous! Kurt and I might keep you in mind for our own wedding, don´t you think?” He turned to Kurt with a smile and Quinn, in an attempt not to look at Rachel, reached into her purse for a business card, before handing it over.

“I´d be happy to be of help. I don´t get to do weddings all that often anymore since I run the shop alone, but I´ll make an exception for you guys.” They seemed nice enough, and maybe she shouldn´t have offered, because it meant crossing paths with Rachel again after she was married, but there was something inside of Quinn, something pulling her towards the other woman and making it impossible for her to completely detach herself from the whole situation.

She´d take any chance to see Rachel, even if it was her best friends´ wedding.

“Do you guys want a drink? We can´t just let you go. A performance like that deserves at least a drink. On us, of course.”

-

Two drinks later Quinn wasn´t exactly drunk, but she had a pleasantly warm feeling filling up her entire body. Kurt and Blaine were great and easy to talk to, and with Rachel leaning against her, arms casually touching where they rested on the table, Quinn wouldn´t have wanted to be anywhere else. Rachel´s touch made her head spin a little, just enough to find a smile sneaking its way onto her face every now and then.

If this was all she could get, then maybe she had to take it. Rachel was warm and she smelled like some kind of vanilla, a scent that should have been common, but to Quinn it was the best thing she had ever smelled.

_Oh,_ finishing her drink Quinn decided that she´s had enough. Part of her didn´t want to leave, but she had spent entirely too much time with Rachel today, and that was affecting her in a way that probably wasn´t good for her already cracking heart.

Luckily for her, or not depending on how you looked at the whole situation, Rachel seemed to be about ready to go home, too. Kurt and Blaine decided to stay for one more drink, but wouldn´t let Quinn go without a promise of coming by for dinner some time, and Quinn had no reason to say no to them.

Stepping out of the bar the cool air seemed to clear her head just a little bit.

This wasn´t an evening she had planned on, but it probably was one she´d never actually forget. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.

“Are you cold?” She turned to look at Rachel, who had fallen in step with her, arms wrapped around her own body.

“A little.”

Quinn pulled off her cardigan and wrapped it around Rachel´s shoulders, who found that her smile was turning a little more genuine at that point.

“Are you okay?” It was such a trivial question, and rarely ever answered truthfully, but Quinn couldn´t help herself. Her brain seemed to process everything at half speed and something about Rachel still seemed a little off.

“Just…tell me something? About flowers.” She replied instead of answering the question as they rounded the next corner.

“What do you want to know?”

“Tell me about the lily.”

“Oh you don´t want to know about the lily.” Quinn replied and Rachel bumped into her side a little, shaking her head.

“No, I do.”

“I´d rather tell you about the azalea.” Quinn pressed on as she felt her stomach drop a little.

“Fine. What about the azalea?” Rachel pulled the cardigan a little tighter around her shoulders as they walked.

“It means _May you achieve financial security.”_

“Wow. That´s the least romantic thing I´ve ever heard,” Rachel couldn´t help but giggle. They had been walking for a good half an hour by then and Quinn only then realized that they had already reached Finn and Rachel´s house.

“What about the lily?” Stopping at the door Rachel turned to Quinn and the Blonde knew she´d have no choice but to answer this time.

“The lily,” she repeated, her eyes meeting with Rachel´s for a moment. “The lily means _I dare you to love me._ ”

Quinn should have turned around, bid her goodbyes and gone home, but it was almost impossible to turn away from the other woman. Rachel´s eyes were an ocean in which Quinn had been drowning from day one and there was no turning back.

“It does?” Rachel asked and her voice was barely a whisper. Quinn was aware that she´d been drinking, so maybe she was imagining the way Rachel seemed to lean in a little closer. Only a few inches and their lips would touch…it was a terrible idea, but Quinn´s heart was beating out of her chest and for a moment she wondered if it was possible for Rachel to hear it.

“I…thank you. I had the best time.” The moment passed and Rachel pulled away before going through her purse to look for the keys.

“I…yes. Me too.” Quinn muttered as she watched the other woman push the keys into the lock, and then peel herself out of the cardigan, handing it back to Quinn. Their hands briefly touched and she felt a shiver running down her spine.

This had to stop.

She held onto the cardigan, desperately trying to keep a smile on her face, but she knew that she was failing. The only thing she could hope for was that Rachel was too tipsy to notice.

“I´ll see you around,”

Quinn could only nod as Rachel disappeared into the house and closed the door. In an attempt not to look like a total creep, Quinn took a few steps away from the house, remembering that she had taken her car to get here.

She was in no state to drive, however, so the Blonde willed her feet to take her back down the road, in hopes of catching a taxi somewhere on the main road.

Still clutching the cardigan tightly to her chest Quinn, to her own horror, realized that she was crying.

And all the while the cardigan smelled like some kind of vanilla.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well look who was inspired to write another chapter! Hope you enjoy this one. Some more feelings coming your way...

Quinn woke up with a headache the next day, a text from Blaine telling her that it was nice to meet her and that he was looking forward to dinner, two missed calls from Santana and a picture of Puck and someone Quinn assumed to be an exotic dancer.

Deleting the picture with an eye roll, which only seemed to make her headache worse, Quinn decided to shoot Blaine a quick text to let him know that she felt the same way. He seemed to be a nice guy and didn´t deserved to be pulled into the drama she had maneuvered herself into.

**To: Blaine, 8.01.am**

_Me too. It was lovely meeting you. Let me know when you´re free! Quinn_

Quinn was in no state of mind to actually call Santana, but she decided to at least send her a text, because she knew very well it wouldn´t be long until her friend showed up at her door step, if she didn´t get a reply.

**To: Santana, 8.02am**

_Went out last night. Sorry for not picking up the phone. I´ll talk to you later._

Putting the phone down Quinn closed her eyes and debated on whether or not to just stay in bed today. She was well aware that she couldn´t just keep the shop closed, but she wasn´t exactly ecstatic to go there.

Her phone buzzed again, twice, then and Quinn picked it up, reading Blaine´s message first.

**From: Blaine, 8.08am**

_The pleasure was all mine. And Kurt´s. :) How about next Friday?_

Typing a quick reply with a confirmation, because this was a lucrative job after all, Quinn switched to Santana´s reply.

**From: Santana, 8.08am**

_I know. Sam told me she saw you with that Rachel girl at the game._

Quinn could feel her stomach drop and, against her better judgement, turned off her phone.

-

She didn´t hear from Rachel for a week. No text, no call, the Brunette didn´t come by the shop, and Quinn hated herself for caring so much. She would have had enough reason to call herself, namely those damn flowers for Rachel´s wedding, but she was too proud.

She´d let the weekend pass and focus on Kurt and Blaine, before calling Rachel back.

_Maybe she´s busy._ A voice in the back of her head suggested and Quinn willed it to quiet down. Something had shifted that night and it was her fault. She could have just told Rachel what the Lily meant and then left, but Quinn had to go and make it weird, because somehow she had managed to fall in love with an engaged woman.

“Just so I´m getting this right,” Santana quipped from her position on the counter, “You´re going to dinner with the best friend of the girl you fell in love with,”

_It´s just business,_ Quinn wanted to say, but she was well aware that it wasn´t true, especially since she had used that phrase too many times during the last couple of weeks.

“This has nothing to do with Rachel. Kurt and Blaine invited me to talk about their own wedding,”

“Ah yes, make sure you don´t fall in love with either of them,”

If looks could kill then Santana Lopez would have dropped dead off the counter right there and then.

“If you´re just going to make fun of me then I would kindly ask you to leave. You´re sitting _on_ my work place anyway.”

“Oh come on Quinnie, don´t be upset.”

Quinn absolutely hated it when Santana used that nickname. It was obvious that she wasn´t taking her seriously whenever she called her _Quinnie_ and if Quinn had ever been serious about something in her life, apart from cutting ties with her parents maybe, then it was wanting Santana to leave right now.

“I need to finish this delivery and then I´m heading out. If you need someone to annoy then call up Puck. He´s been sending me pictures of Finn´s stag night non-stop and I am really, really tired of getting selfies of him with different exotic dancers.”

Picking up a bouquet and shushing Santana off the counter, Quinn carefully wrapped it up in paper and set it aside.

“Fine, the loss of my company is your problem, not mine.” Santana replied with a shrug as she jumped off the counter and headed for the door. Before leaving, however, she turned to look at Quinn.

“Remember though: No woman is worth your tears. If she doesn´t want you, that´s her loss.”

And with that Santana left Quinn watching as the door fell shut, the little bell above the door jingling, and her eyes stinging with tears.

-

Kurt and Blaine owned a cute little flat in East London, that actually wasn´t too far from _Fabray´s Flowers_ and Quinn was thankful for that. She hadn´t allowed herself to pick up her car from Rachel´s place, mainly because she wanted to avoid accidentally seeing her, so she had walked here from the shop. She would, however, eventually need to pick up the car, because it was needed for deliveries and she couldn´t do all of those by foot.

Within the first five minutes of her visit she had learned that Blaine was a music teacher and Kurt worked for the _British Vogue,_ not only writing but also coordinating the fashion spreads. Looking at his neatly and carefully chosen outfit, which had a certain flair to it, Quin assumed he had always wanted to work in fashion.

She found that they were both easy to talk to and Blaine was willing to let Kurt make all the decisions when it came to the flowers. She had brought a bouquet along, as a thank you for the invite, purposefully avoiding putting lilies in there, and they had both loved it.

Blaine was just beginning to set the table, and Kurt had taken a bottle of wine from the shelf, when the doorbell rang. Quinn didn´t even think anything of it when Blaine asked her to get the door. She was already thinking about which flowers would go well with the pink roses he was insisting on having. So when she opened the door, and was faced with no one other than Finn and Rachel, Quinn needed a moment to process the whole situation.

Her heart missed a beat until it was reminded that it had been broken by the exact same woman in front of her, whether she had been meaning to do it or not, and the moment Quinn realized what was going on she swore to never, ever let anyone invite her to dinner ever again.

“Quinn, so nice to see you again!” Finn was grinning as he moved in for a hug that Quinn wasn´t quite able to avoid. This whole thing about being in love with his fiancé would have been so much easier if he hadn´t been such a nice guy, really.

“You too,” She managed, quickly stepping away from the hug and aside, so they could enter the flat and she didn´t have to hug Rachel. Quinn wasn’t sure if she could handle touching the other woman without bursting into tears.

It sounded pathetic, even to her, but it was the truth and she could hate herself for it as much as she wanted to, it wasn´t going to change.

“Dinner´s ready!” Blaine´s call from the kitchen pulled Quinn from her thoughts and she hurried into the dining room, hoping that this evening would go over quickly.

-

“Do you guys believe in love at first sight?”

It wasn´t what Quinn had expected to be talking about over dinner, but it surely caught her attention when the rest of the conversation had mainly been a blur of words she had stopped trying to follow.

“I´ve been thinking about it, you know, because Puck kept telling me how he´s absolutely in love with…those women he met during our trip last weekend. And I was like: Dude, you can´t tell if you´re in love after five minutes. Love takes like, time. Right?”

Quinn pushed the leftover risotto from one side of her plate to another. Did she believe in love at first sight? If anyone would have asked her a few weeks ago, she would have said no. People had always been enticed by her looks, they had wanted to go out with her, had wanted to sleep with her, but that wasn´t love. Then Rachel Berry had, quite literally, stumbled into her life though, and everything had changed.

“Absolutely. I mean…you´re friends with someone first. Then it feels…warm, and comfortable and you just…hang in there and give it a chance. And…before you know it you´re like: Yeah, this is it.”

Rachel´s words caused Quinn to look up and their eyes met for a second. She knew she shouldn´t say anything, because it would only make things worse, but she couldn´t help herself.

“No.”

“No?” Rachel sounded almost offended, leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms. “What do you mean, no?”

Quinn took a deep breath. “I think you know immediately. As soon as your eyes meet. And everything that happens from then on just proves you were right in that first moment. When you suddenly realize you were incomplete and now you´re whole.”

Rachel seemed baffled for a moment, and Quinn thought she could see something shift in her eyes, but she was probably imagining things.

“But if you think that,” Rachel eventually continued, shaking her head, “Then everyone who doesn´t have all that… _business,_ is settling for less.”

“That´s not what I´m…” Quinn began, but was interrupted by Blaine, who seemed to have somehow sensed the tension in the room, or simply had incredibly good timing.

“Okay well. Who wants dessert?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More feels. Ahem.

The dessert had been a Trifle that Quinn would have enjoyed distinctively more, if the mood hadn´t shifted so much into awkwardness. She hadn´t meant to speak up and make things weird, but then again things had been weird between Rachel and her before, so maybe this wasn´t entirely her fault either.

Fortunately Blaine seemed to be rather good at distracting people, so that they were soon talking about flower arrangements, and then Finn had Kurt caught up in some conversation about this week’s footy game. Kurt seems less than pleased.

At some point Blaine had to interject himself into the conversation to save his fiancé, and Quinn watched as Rachel picked up the empty dessert plates and headed for the kitchen. In a split second decision she decided to follow her, knowing very well this could be the second mistake she was making tonight. Taking the left over Trifle, Quinn followed the Brunette into the kitchen, placing the bowl into the fridge, before leaning against the counter.

A silence, apart from the clanking of plates and cutlery as they´re being shuffled into the dish washer, settled over them and Quinn briefly wondered if she should just leave. Pack up her things, thank Kurt and Blaine for the nice evening and head out, but then Rachel´s voice perked up and she turned to look at her.

“I`m sorry that I went off on you like that.”

Quinn had expected a lot of things, but not an apology. So for a moment she just stared, before her brain seemed to regain its function. “No…I shouldn´t have either. I didn´t mean to offend anyone.” Everyone had their own opinion on different matters, and even if they differed from one another there was no reason to get into an argument.

There was another pause as Rachel closed the dish washer, and leaned against the counter as well. “So…you´re still doing the flowers for the wedding?”

Quinn felt her heart drop, but simply nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn´t I? That´s not a job I would give up. Besides, I love the concept we´ve come up with.” And maybe she wasn´t talking about the flowers at all, but if Rachel noticed then she didn´t respond. It didn´t matter really, Quinn knew that there was never going to be something between them, and even though it hurt she needed to keep reminding herself of that fact.

Another pause, and Quinn could hear the chatter from the dining room, as she pushed herself off the counter.

“We should…talk, right?” Rachel broke the silence eventually and Quinn could feel herself freeze. It could have been anything, from something Rachel had meant to talk to her about but then forgotten, to some notes she had for the flower arrangements, but somehow Quinn could tell that it was something entirely different. A conversation she wasn´t quite ready to have.

“We do?” She managed to ask, her voice a little thin. She was well aware that it would have been easier to just get this conversation over with, but Quinn had always been a private person, the same was to be said about her heartbreaks. She took them as best as she could, but she´d rather deal with them alone, not pour her heart out in front of the woman she loved, only to have it stomped on.

“Yes. I mean there´s obviously…” Rachel began, but Quinn´s mind went into overdrive. She absolutely wasn´t ready to have this conversation, and maybe she never would be.

“You know what? I actually can´t, not right now. I completely forgot that I have to be up early to finish a delivery. So I´d better get going,” For someone who was raised hiding her true feelings, Quinn was a bad liar. At least when it came to Rachel Berry.

“Oh…yes. Sure.” Rachel seemed confused, but she made no attempt to stop Quinn as she exited the kitchen and returned to the dining room to bid her goodbyes.

Kurt and Blaine seemed sad to see her go so early, but there was really no chance in hell Quinn was staying any longer to have this conversation with Rachel. Especially not with her fiancé in the next room. She thanked them for the invite and promised to come up with a concept for the flowers by next week. It was too late to turn the whole thing down and besides, Kurt and Blaine were nice and she couldn´t let her own broken heart get in the way of business.

Thinking back now she had probably learned that from her father, and Quinn felt her stomach twist at that, while she stepped out into the cool London air.

This wasn´t how falling in love head over heels should be.

Sighing, she pulled her phone from her bag to type a message.

**To: Santana, 10.02pm**

_Hey. Can you pick me up?_

The answer came promptly.

**From: Santana, 10.03pm**

_Send me your location._

-

Quinn spent that night in Santana´s bed. They had picked up the Blonde´s car from Rachel´s house, but instead of going home, Quinn had followed Santana to her apartment. Being alone didn´t seem like a good idea, and if there was anyone who could distract her, even if it was just by annoying her, then it was Santana.

“We could have had tons of amazing sex last night, you know.” Santana rolled her eyes as she picked up the two coffee cups, placing one onto the table in front of Quinn. “But you had to insist on keeping your clothes on.”

Quinn rolled her eyes, too, but mainly out of habit. She knew Santana was only teasing, they´ve had sex once, and it had been great, but Quinn had decided that this wasn´t something she wanted to get tangled up in. Santana had a dozen people she slept with on a regularly basis, and while Quinn wasn´t judging her, to each its own really, she didn´t want to be one of those people. She´d rather just have a friend she could count on, even if she wanted to throw her out the window every now and then.

“Have you ever been in love?” Quinn picked up her coffee, glancing at Santana, who seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment.

“You don´t need to be in love to have fun.”

“That´s not what I asked.”

Santana shrugged her shoulders as she leaned against the counter. “Does it matter?”

Quinn took a sip of the coffee. “Don´t you want it? Being in love? Getting butterflies every time you see that special someone. A smile on your face when they talk to you, even if you don´t feel like smiling at all. Goosebumps when your hands touch…” She trailed off and Santana raised an eyebrow.

“Shit, you really are in love with that woman, aren´t you?”

Quinn sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. “Does it matter?”

“Fuck yes it matters, Quinn. I´ve never seen you like this,”

_That´s because I´ve never felt this way before._ She thought to herself. With Sam things had been easy and fun and Quinn thought that, maybe, she could have fallen in love with her. It was like Rachel had said: you felt comfortable around someone, then you gave them a chance and maybe…but this was different. When Rachel had stumbled into her life Quinn had immediately known that this had to be it, even if she had repressed it for a good amount of time. And maybe things could have gone down a different path, maybe if she had met Rachel a little earlier…but it didn´t matter.

“What did I say about no woman being worth your tears?” Santana interrupted her thoughts, and Quinn could feel a tear sliding down her cheek.

“Apart from you, you mean?”

“Obviously.” Santana had pushed herself away from the counter, arms wrapping around Quinn´s shoulders as she pulled her in. Quinn let it happen, burying her face against the other woman´s stomach, letting the tears fall.

-

Quinn was late to work that day. It didn´t really matter, because she was the one opening and closing the shop anyway, and she didn’t think that she´d missed many customers before 9 o´clock. Most people who came to the shop on Saturday’s didn´t show up before 10 anyways. She didn’t feel like working, because a lot of her work revolved around making bouquets, and that meant she had enough time to be alone with her thoughts.

Sighing to herself she was momentarily distracted by the bell above the door. Hoping to find a customer there to take her mind off things, Quinn was slightly disappointed when she was faced with Kurt of all people.

“Lovely little shop,” He mused with a smile as he let the door fall shut behind himself. “Did you always want to be a florist?”

Quinn let out a laugh, shaking her head. “I wanted to do something that wasn´t what my parents wanted me to do.” She then replied and Kurt raised an eyebrow.

“Ah yes. Rachel said you took this over from your aunt?” Quinn almost flinched at the mention of Rachel´s name, but then thought better of it. Her self-control was something she prided herself on, but also something that had been severely lacking ever since she had met Rachel.

“Great aunt, yes. She goes on vacation all summer long, ever since she´s retired. She sometimes helps out when I have to do deliveries that take longer than an hour, but other than that it´s just me,” finishing the bouquet she pushed it aside before looking back at Kurt.

“What can I do for you?”

“Oh. I just came by to make sure you were okay. You left in such a hurry last night, Blaine fears that he was a bad host.”

Quinn´s lips curved into a soft smile as she shook her head. “No. He doesn´t need to worry about that. The dinner was great and the Trifle heavenly. I really just had to be up early.”

Kurt mirrored her smile with a nod. “I told him that, but…sometimes it´s hard for him to untangle his mind from an idea that got stuck there. So I dropped by to check and maybe pick up some flowers for him. He´s at school, decorating the classroom for the new school year. He wants it to be perfect,”

Quinn picked up the bouquet she had just finished. “Here, on the house. I´m sorry I seemed like I wasn´t enjoying myself. I was.”

Taking the bouquet from her Kurt nodded. “Lilies, Rachel´s favourites, right?” He then asked and Quinn glanced at the flowers.

She hadn´t noticed.

For a moment Kurt and her eyes met and Quinn felt caught. There was no way he could know how she felt, and if he did then he would have probably already told her to stay away. Finn was his brother after all.

Feeling her stomach drop slightly she tried to put on another smile. “So she told me, yes. They´re quite popular, actually. Especially during summer,” A poor attempt at a save, but it seemed like Kurt was buying it.

“Well I´m sure Blaine will love them, too. Thank you. Send me a mail when you´ve finished the portfolio for our wedding?”

“Of course. Give my regards to Blaine.” Quinn was quick to answer and Kurt nodded before he turned, heading for the door.

Once he was gone Quinn sunk against the counter, letting out a sigh. Less than a week until the wedding. Until Rachel would be a married woman. Maybe then she could finally move on from this whole thing.

One week, that was all Quinn had to get through.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like "Quinn sighed," is a mood in this fanfic! xD  
> Anyway, now things are getting interesting...thanks for staying around! Your comments mean the world to me! <3

The next week was simultaneously the longest, but also the shortest, of Quinn´s life. She spent most of her time trying to busy herself with work, conferring with Kurt about the last changes to the flower arrangements for Finn and Rachel´s wedding. Part of her was glad that she didn´t have to speak to Rachel, because she wasn´t sure if she would have been able to, but then again Quinn had a feeling this might haunt her forever, if she didn´t.

Rachel didn´t reach out either, though. For someone who had told her they needed to talk, she was rather absent in her communication, and Quinn wasn´t quite sure what to make of it.

On Wednesday she got dragged out to go suit shopping with Puck, because of course he´d save that for the last minute. Quinn didn´t want to go. The last thing she needed, was to be reminded of what was going to happen on Saturday, but there was no one else to go with him, and she feared he´d end up buying the most ridiculous suit there was.

“I´m really feeling this one.”

Quinn, who´d been sitting in the same chair for about an hour, glanced up and very nearly almost lost it.

“That´s turquoise.” She found herself replying, just in case he hadn’t noticed.

“I know. It´s perfect, right?” The grin on his face seemed to get even bigger.

“Puck you can´t show up in a turquoise suit. Rachel will murder you.”

“And you know that how?”

Feeling her heart clench just a little in her chest, Quinn managed to roll her eyes, pushing the emotions that were welling up, back. “Because I know about the decoration at her wedding. Everything is perfectly color coordinated. And if it´s not Rachel that´ll murder you, then Kurt surely will.” That wasn´t even a lie. Kurt was a nice guy, but he was very into making sure that everything was perfectly organized and fit well together, so the best man showing up in a turquoise suit was going to be nothing short of a disaster.

Puck seemed to contemplate for a moment, but then eventually threw his arms up in defeat, and turned to disappear into the changing room once again.

Quinn only sighed.

-

They had eventually settled for a simple, dark blue suit that would complement the one Finn would be wearing. Quinn was planning on dropping Puck off at home, before returning to the store, to finish some orders and clean up. She´d been working non-stop these past few days, but not because there was more to do than usual, but because going home meant giving herself the time to think, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Stopping her car in front of his apartment building, she kept the engine running before reaching behind herself to pull the suit from the backseat.

“Do you remember what you said?” Puck´s voice was more serious than usual and so Quinn stopped, turning to look at him.

“I said a lot of things, Puck. I´m afraid you´re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Leaning back in his seat, Puck took the suit from her. “About how you´d never shag anyone´s wife.”

For a moment Quinn forgot how to breathe. It was easy to hide your feelings, when nobody really knew what they were looking for, but to be called out like this? She could feel her stomach turning.

“Of course I remember, why?” She managed, as composed as possible, though her hand was gripping at the steering wheel.

“I´m just saying. You know, don´t break your principles.”

Quinn´s mouth had gone dry, but she simply nodded. “I won´t.” And she wasn´t planning to. Of course not. She had known her father´s had countless affairs on the side, with her mother knowing, and Quinn had sworn to never be like that. Not like her mother, and not like her father, either. And by far the last thing she wanted to be, was _the other woman._

Though Rachel had long made her choice, if there had been any sort of feelings involved, feelings strong enough to change her mind, then she would have said so.

“Finn´s a nice guy,” Puck´s voice pulled Quinn from her thoughts.

“I know.”

She could feel her chest tighten, though Puck didn´t seem to notice the change in her behaviour. Or maybe he just didn´t comment on it. Either way Quinn was almost thankful as he opened the door, and slid out of the car.

“I´ll see you on Saturday then.”

Quinn could only nod.

-

She didn´t go back to the shop that night. Instead she went home and emptied an entire bottle of wine. It wasn´t her proudest moment, but she had at least made sure to turn off her phone beforehand, so she wasn´t tempted to call or text anyone. _Anyone_ being Rachel.

Or to tell Puck that he had absolutely no right to judge her, considering he was going around, sleeping with married women left and right.

She didn´t do either of those things, though. Instead Quinn passed out on the couch and woke up at 6 in the morning, her mouth dry and her head feeling like someone had whacked her over the head with a hammer.

The next two days passed in a blur, with Quinn banning every alcohol she still had, from her house. The other bottle of wine left went down the drain, while the hard liquor, she had gotten from Santana at some point, was given to her neighbour.

When Saturday rolled around, Quinn hadn´t slept the night before. Having loaded up the car, she had decorated the room where the reception would be held, and then made her way to the synagogue. Part of her wished she could have gone without seeing Rachel, but she still had the bridal bouquet to deliver, and it would have been childish to avoid Rachel by sending someone else.

Having asked Blaine where the bride was getting ready, he had happily pointed her towards one of the rooms in the back of the synagogue. Taking a deep breath, Quinn braced herself for anything that might be thrown her way, the walls she had so carefully constructed over the years being pulled up even higher.

When she knocked, a familiar voice called for her to enter, and when she did Quinn only briefly realized that it had been Kurt. He had just finished zipping up Rachel´s dress, but Quinn barely noticed his presence at all.

Rachel looked breathtaking.

Her long, white dress was a beautiful A-line, laced with satin and shoulder free, with a champagne coloured ribbon tied around the waist. Her hair was loosely tied up into a knot in the back, with a floral shaped hair comb holding it together.

Quinn quite literally forgot to breathe for a moment.

The other woman looked stunning, and for a little while Quinn almost forgot that she was heartbroken, attending the wedding of the woman she had fallen in love with.

Kurt was checking his watch with a nod. “All set. I´ll leave you two to do…the rest.” Giving Rachel one last look, he adjusted his own bowtie, before heading for the door. “Fifteen minutes, Rach.”

He brushed past Quinn, who only now really registered his presence, but didn´t say anything. She wouldn´t have known what to tell him anyways.

“What do you think?” Rachel turned away from the mirror to face Quinn, who had to remind herself to breathe.

_In and out._

Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she decided to go with the truth.

“You´re beautiful.”

It was the first time she had said it out loud, though Quinn really had thought exactly that from the moment Rachel had stepped into her life. She briefly wondered if it would have made a difference if she had said it sooner, but then again it probably wouldn´t have.

“You brought the bridal bouquet?”

Quinn glanced down at the flowers she was holding, finding that her hands were shaking.

“Yes.”

“Lilies?”

“They´re your favourites.” Taking a step forward she held out the bouquet, and when Rachel reached for it, their hands brushed against each other. Quinn could feel the skin on her arms breaking into goose bumps, and she inwardly cursed herself for such a reaction. She should have known better. She should have handed over the bouquet and left, but instead here she was, with Rachel facing her, only a bouquet separating them, like the first time they had met.

“Do you wish you´d have never met me?” Rachel´s voice was quiet, maybe even a little shaky. Her question almost caught Quinn off guard.

Did she? The answer should have probably been yes, because not stumbling into Rachel would have saved her from the heartbreak of the century, but without her Quinn would have never known that she could feel this way. To fall in love with someone so utterly and completely, to give someone her whole heart without holding back? If she would have told herself that a while ago, Quinn wouldn´t have believed it.

“No.”

She swore that she could see Rachel´s expression change at the simple word she´d just spoken, though Quinn didn´t know what to make of it quite yet.

“I have to tell you something.” Rachel eventually began, still holding on to the bouquet with Quinn. “That night? When you took me home from the bar…I…wanted to kiss you.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are approaching the end of this story slowly, maybe one more chapter after this, and I can´t believe how quickly it´s gone by. I love writing these two and I´m glad you guys are enjoying the story too! Thanks for sticking with me! <3

Rachel´s words hit her with such an impact, that Quinn felt like she´d been punched in the gut.

She wasn´t quite sure if this was better, or worse, than just finishing up the flowers and then disappearing out of Rachel´s life, preferably also being far, far away when she was actually getting married.

“You can´t just say that.” Quinn´s voice was shaky when she finally found it again, her stomach coiling in on itself. Oh God, she was going to be sick.

“But it´s the truth,” Rachel insisted, and for a moment Quinn wanted to laugh. This was just like her, finding the love of her life, only to watch her getting married, all while she had convinced herself that there was nothing between them, and the day Rachel finally decided to come around, and admit her feelings, sort of at least, was the day of her wedding.

What was Quinn supposed to do? Run off with her?

The worst part about all of it was that, for a moment, Quinn actually considered it. It would have been easy to sneak out the back with Rachel, jump into her car and just drive off, but that was no base for a relationship. Finn was a nice guy, too nice for this world probably, and if they ever wanted to look at Puck, or Kurt and Blaine for that matter, again without feeling absolutely awful, they couldn´t just disappear.

“You couldn´t have just lied?” It probably wasn´t what she should have said, because all Quinn had done these past few weeks had been lie to herself, but still. She didn´t know what else to do, what else to say, to get out of this situation. She could still feel Rachel´s hand brushing against her own, where they both held onto the bridal bouquet.

Rachel seemed to be…offended by the question. Quinn could see the emotions in her eyes, the way she puffed her cheeks just a tiny bit. God, it was too easy to read her, and that somehow hurt even more, because they had only met a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed like none of her friends, not even her fiancé, had noticed that something was off.

“I don´t lie,” She then insisted and Quinn almost rolled her eyes. Not because she wanted to, but because of the absurdity of that situation.

“Rachel. That was over a week ago. You could have told me then, or you could have just kissed me. That would have sort of spoken for itself.” She knew it wasn´t fair. Rachel was getting married, and just because she´d felt the sudden urge to kiss someone, on a night when they´ve had some cocktails, didn´t mean that she should just up and leave her future husband.

_You know it´s more than that_ , a voice, which Quinn had been trying to ignore for weeks now, reminded her, but she was having none of it. Maybe it was a way of protecting herself, but there was no way this could take a turn for the better. That was, however, until Rachel leaned forward, pressing her lips to Quinn´s.

The bouquet, which had been separating them, had dropped to the floor, like the last resistance that was crumbling right before their eyes. A shiver ran down Quinn´s spine, long after their lips had touched, goose bumps breaking out on her skin, as she pulled Rachel closer.

For a moment the rest of the world seemed to fall away, and it was just the two of them. No wedding dress, no groom waiting, no voice in the back of her mind, fighting another one, telling her that she was becoming exactly whom she had sworn to Puck she never would.

It didn´t matter, though. Not with how Rachel stood on her tiptoes to reach Quinn´s lips, how her free hands now held on tightly to the Blonde´s cardigan, and how Quinn could spend the rest of her life doing exactly this.

Kissing Rachel Berry.

“Oh my…”

There was still a pleasant buzz under her skin, making Quinn feel all warm and tingly, even when Rachel pulled away. It took her a moment to come back to herself, for the warmth to be replaced with something else, something that gripped at Quinn´s heart with cold claws, when she saw the look in Rachel´s eyes.

_Oh no._

She´d let herself get swept away, because all those things Rachel had said, how she had kissed her, it had felt real. Quinn had let it become real, by kissing her back.

“I´m sorry…I…” Rachel muttered, a hand halfway up to her hair, before she realized that running a hand through it would ruin the carefully constructed hairdo Kurt had come up with. “I didn´t…I´m getting married.”

It was a painful reminder of what was to come, and why Quinn should have just handed over the bouquet and left. This, she decided, was distinctively worse than spending a few weeks, months, maybe, pining over Rachel. At least she could have pretended that it was nothing but a crush, that Rachel didn´t have any feelings for her, but here they were, Rachel´s lips still pink from when they had kissed just a minute ago.

“I´m sorry. I just…” Rachel trailed off for a moment and Quinn wanted to slap her. Or herself. Both, probably.

“Don´t apologize.” It made everything ten times worse, the cold grip on her heart seeming to get even tighter with every word uttered by the Brunette.

“No, but…I never…” Rachel threw her hands up in frustration, and Quinn could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Finn´s nice, he´s kind…and London is great. The job is great, but…I´ve never felt at home here, not…until I met you.”

And all that should have made it better, but it made it so much worse instead. Quinn could have gone the rest of her life, wondering if Rachel might have liked her just a tiny bit, she could have written it off as a crush and moved on, but now? Having had a taste of those lips, and knowing that Rachel had been the one to initiate the kiss, before backing out?

It was going to break her heart over and over again.

“Then…don´t marry him, please.” It sounded pathetic, even in her own ears, but Quinn couldn´t help the words as they tumbled past her lips. Quinn was in absolutely no position to make a request of such proportions, but Rachel had kissed her and…

Stopping that train of thought before it got out of hand, she glanced down to meet the other woman´s eyes. There was pain etched into Rachel´s features, and the tears in her eyes were threatening to spill over onto her cheeks.

“Quinn…I…”

The knock on the door interrupted the Brunette, and Kurt´s voice could be heard through the thick wood. “Five minutes, Rach.”

It was in that moment that something inside of Quinn broke. She had felt it barely being held together by the last bit of hope she had been able to find, but with that being ripped away from her, even the cold claw around her heart couldn´t hold it together anymore.

“I´m sorry.” Rachel muttered as she threw her arms around Quinn, in a last attempt to hold onto something that wasn´t supposed to be there. Like they were both each other´s lifeline, the only thing that kept the other from drowning, but they would have to let go eventually.

Right now, actually. They´d have to let go, even though Quinn was already having a hard time to even just imagine untangling herself from the other woman. Rachel seemed to fit perfectly against her, face buried against the crook of Quinn´s neck, arms wrapped around her waist, fingers tangling into the material of Quinn´s cardigan, holding on for dear life.

Quinn was suddenly reminded of the first time she had seen her. Peeking out behind the bouquet of roses, eyes wide with curiosity. How Rachel and her had locked eyes when she´d been on stage, and how the other woman´s eyes had lit up whenever Quinn had brought her flowers.

The minutes were ticking away, running between their fingers like sand, and Quinn knew she´d have to be the one to let go first. Strangely, even with her heart breaking and falling to pieces, she wouldn´t forgive herself if Rachel was late to her own wedding. The Brunette had made a choice, and they´d both have to live with it. For better or for worse.

Gently untangling herself from Rachel´s embrace, Quinn forced herself to keep the tears from falling. Her entire life she had learned to be strong, but Rachel had torn down those carefully constructed walls with such ease, that it had been terrifying to Quinn at first, but now she understood that this was what real love did to you. It made you feel so comfortable around someone, that telling them all your secrets, and letting your guard down, wasn´t so terrifying at all anymore. It should have been, really, because Quinn was about to let the love of her damn life marry someone else, but this wasn´t her choice. She had made her feelings for Rachel clear, the ball had been in her court, and Rachel had made her choice.

Quinn really wished that she could have been angry at the other woman. Maybe thrown something, or yelled, but every little bit of anger had disappeared into thin air, when Rachel had wrapped her arms around her. It simply hadn´t been their time.

_In another life, maybe._ Quinn thought to herself. It was still painful, and the cold grip around her heart hadn’t loosened up, but she was aware that she would have to be the bigger person here. She´d have to let go, even if it would kill her.

Bending down to pick up the bouquet, which they had dropped just moments before, Quinn quickly fixed it, holding it out towards Rachel.

“Don´t forget me.” The Brunette whispered as her hands closed around the bouquet, brushing against Quinn´s fingers one last time.

“I won´t remember anything else.” Quinn returned, her eyes lingering on Rachel for another moment, before she turned around, her vision going slightly blurry as she found the door, and slipped out of the room.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, here we go. This is already the last chapter and I can´t even begin to explain how happy I am. I haven´t written Faberry in ages, but I`ve had this idea stuck in my head for years. Part of me is glad I waited until now to write it though, because I feel like I´ve done it justice.
> 
> I love these two girls so much, still, and I am glad I´m not the only one. I want to thank every single one of you for reading and leaving comments and kudos, and sticking it out with me until the end!
> 
> Enjoy the last chapter! 
> 
> Much love <3

Quinn had stumbled down the steps of the synagogue, pulling out her phone on the way to her car. She could feel her vision blurring slightly, and she almost missed the last step, which would have sent her tumbling to the ground, and really: That was the last thing she needed right now. A broken heart was bad enough, but broken bones weren´t exactly something she needed as an add on to it.

She could still feel the ghost of Rachel´s lips on hers, the way her fingers had brushed Quinn´s. Her chest tightened at the simple thought of it.

They could have been fine. Happy. God Quinn could have made her so happy, but instead she had made her sad. Part of her wished she could have a memory to treasure, like Rachel getting incredibly excited at the game, the two of them singing karaoke at the bar, but it was all overshadowed by the pained expression in Rachel´s eyes, the tears that had threatened to spill onto her cheeks.

Somehow Quinn had made her sad, even though she was the one whose heart had shattered to pieces.

 _Get it together, Fabray_. She thought as she fumbled for the keys to her car with one hand, while typing a number into her phone with the other. Luckily for Quinn she knew the number inside out, so even with her blurry vision, it wasn´t hard to get it right.

The phone rang for a couple of seconds, before the person on the other end of the line picked up.

“San? Can you do me a favour?”

-

Santana, by the looks of it, was less than pleased. She was leaning against the counter at _Fabray Flowers_ , arms crossed in front of her chest, one eyebrow raised.

“I know shit about flowers, Quinn.” She protested for the hundredth time, but she was there nonetheless. Admittedly, Santana wasn’t always easy to be around, she was a pain in the ass most of the time, but she had never left Quinn hanging, something the Blonde was more than thankful for.

“It won´t be for long, I promise. Once I´ll get to Brighton I´ll tell aunt Fanny what´s going on. She´ll be here to take your place in no time.”

The truth was: Quinn hated asking Fanny for this favour, especially since she knew how much her aunt loved spending the summer in Brighton, but there was no other way. She couldn´t stay in London, not with the possibility of running into Rachel any time soon. Surely, the city was big, but with Quinn´s luck she´d run into her anyways. Besides: Kurt and Blaine would probably still invite her over for dinner, assuming Rachel hadn´t told them what had happened, and she couldn´t risk accidentally revealing too much.

She was still going to have to do the flowers for their wedding, of course, and she wanted to, but maybe that would be easier, once she´d had a few weeks away from London, and from Rachel.

“Fine,” Santana complained with an eye roll. “But only if you promise to bang a super-hot lesbian down in Brighton. To get over _Miss not so barbie heterosexual_.”

Quinn almost laughed at that.

“Yeah…you weren´t so good with that, were you?” She then replied and for a moment Santana´s expression went soft.

“Yeah well, I wish I had been,” She shrugged her shoulders, before reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Quinn´s ear. “And I want pictures of that super-hot lesbian, got it?”

Now Quinn did laugh, even if it was short lived.

“Fine. But only, because you asked so nicely,” She then returned, and before she knew it Santana had wrapped her arms around the Blonde, hugging her tightly for a moment.

“Be careful, alright? And…come back.”

Quinn could feel her chest tighten a little more, as she nodded slowly.

“I will.”

She had grabbed a bag from home on the way here, only packing a couple of things. She wasn´t sure how long she was going to be gone, but if she needed anything she could always buy it.

She had parked her car at home, planning on taking the train to Brighton. For a moment Quinn had considered just driving there straight from home, but that wouldn´t be the rational thing to do. She needed to tell Santana how to run the shop, and with how tight her chest still felt, she wasn´t sure if she´d make it to Brighton without crying, and crying and driving usually didn´t go so well together.

“I´ll call you when I get there,”

-

Santana had been by herself for about fifteen minutes, and she was already done. Some guy had come in and asked for a break up plant, whatever the hell that was supposed to be, while some old guy was going on about starting an herb garden, which Santana knew absolutely nothing about.

She was already wondering if she could get away with closing the shop early, because she had already sold two things ( surely, one of those two things had been a cactus, but hey, who was keeping tabs? ) when the door to the shop was thrown open with such force, that the little bell above the door fell off, very nearly hitting the unexpected visitor in the head.

“Well, that´s a surprise.”

-

The train was five minutes late, which wasn´t unusual, but somehow it made Quinn feel uneasy. She wanted to get out of this place, away from the people who were standing shoulder to shoulder, craning their necks, and rolling their eyes at the delay.

 _There´s worse things,_ Quinn thought to herself. Things that were haunting her, for example. Like Rachel´s eyes, or her smile, the way her lips felt warm against her own.

_Quinn._

Honestly, she needed to get over this whole thing, better sooner than later, but the thing was: Quinn had never really been in love before. Not like this, anyways. Where all you thought about was one person, the way they talked, the way they smiled, how their hair smelled like vanilla.

_Quinn._

How your heart missed a beat whenever you saw them, how your skin was covered in goose bumps whenever your hands brushed against each other.

_Quinn._

How those eyes were so lovely, lovely enough to get lost in them for the rest of your life.

Something pulled Quinn from her thoughts, and for a moment she figured it was the train that approached the station, but no. That wasn´t it. People around her were whispering and turning their heads to look for something, and that was when Quinn heard a voice traveling across the platform, loud and clear.

**“YOU´RE A WANKER, NUMBER NINE!”**

Quinn´s head flew around to find the source, even though she already knew where it was coming from. Her heart was beating hard against her ribcage, and for a moment she tried to talk herself out of it. This couldn’t really be happening, she must have gotten on the train and fallen asleep.

Yes, she had to be dreaming.

But she wasn´t. Right there, on one of the benches, elevated above the crowd, stood Rachel, still in her wedding dress. Hands pressed to her diaphragm ( yes, Quinn remembered that ), her lips curved into a wide smile.

 **“Quinn! Quinn, I can do this!”** She called, and Quinn felt like she could pass out any minute. Was this really happening? Her legs seemed to know the answer, because they were already moving forward. Quinn was making her way through the crowd, her own lips curved into a grin, as Rachel hopped off the bench and met her halfway.

“I can do this,” She repeated as Quinn´s hands flew to her face, tucking strands of hair behind her ears, just needing to touch her.

“But…you´re…didn´t you…” _Didn´t you get married?_ She wanted to ask, but she already knew the answer to that question.

Looking over Rachel´s shoulder, Quinn could see both Blaine and Kurt in the distance, the former having wrapped his arms around the other, but both with smiles on their faces. Next to them, grinning likewise, stood Santana, who was giving her a thumbs up.

Quinn smiled, but then focused back on Rachel, who was smiling too, radiating happiness with every fibre of her body.

“I´m sorry it took me so long, I just…” She didn´t get to finish that sentence, also because Quinn didn´t need an apology, but mainly because she leaned in to press her lips against Rachel´s in a kiss.

Arms wrapped around her, and Rachel was holding on so tightly that Quinn thought she might never let go, and maybe she wouldn´t mind that so much.

 **“Go get a room!”** Santana called from the other end of the platform, and Quinn couldn´t help but laugh into the kiss, her nose brushing against Rachel´s.

“Is this really happening?” She then asked in a hushed whisper.

“Me? Being a runaway bride, and calling some non-existent person a wanker at full volume, while still wearing my wedding dress?” Rachel returned with a slight chuckle.

Quinn let out a laugh, before leaning in for another kiss, her heart missing a beat as their lips touched.

“Yeah. Can you imagine?”

_“Me and you and you and me_  
_No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be_  
_The only one for me is you, and you for me_  
_So happy together,”_


End file.
